A Host's Love
by LilyandIvy
Summary: April 26: Haruhi receives three letters in the mail, and her life suddenly turns into a soap opera. Set the year after Tamaki and Kyouya graduate.
1. A Host's Love

**A/N: Why am I publishing two stories within an hour when I'm only a new member? (Shrug) Anyway, when you review, NO SPOILERS Seriously. I'm talking nothing--but _nothing_--past the anime. Clear? 'Kay.**

Looking back, Haruhi could name the exact day that her life as she knew it deconstructed bit by bit.

Thursday, April 26.

Haruhi was a third-year at Ouran High School, and in two months, a first-year at a college known for its law classes. Yet, though her debt had been paid off long ago, and though she would soon be in the much more business world of law school, the Host Club was a regular part of her life. Odd, since Mori, Hunny, Tamaki, and Kyouya had all graduated. The only original members of the Host Club were Hikaru, Kaoru, and herself. A few more boys had joined, but in Haruhi's eyes, they were much less adept at romancing women then any of the previous members, especially when compared to the King, Tamaki. Yet the girls kept coming, probably attracted to the more personable aspect these new hosts provided.

In any event, Haruhi would soon be out of the Host Club for good, and she still had mixed feelings about that.

She was studying for that very future she was planning, when her okama father, dressed for work already, came breezing into her room, and handed her a pile of letters, one already opened.

"You have mail, Haruhi!" her father said in a sing-song voice, the voice that meant he wasn't sure whether something was offensive or amusing, and was trying to hide it from her.

Haruhi took a cursory glance at the stack.

"No, these are addressed to you, Dad," she said, her eyes automatically reverting to the notes in front of her.

"Just the first one," he said, but picking it up and taking the paper out of the envelope, "but I'll read that one for you."He cleared his throat, took the paper in one hand regally, and said in the most kingly voice he could muster, said very clearly: "My dear Ryoji Fujioka, I would be honored if you would extend your daughter's hand in marriage to me, the heir to the Suou family fortune and companies, Tamaki Suou."

"Honestly?" Haruhi said, an involuntary spasm rocketing it's way through her body.

"It goes on, with lots of flowery language, but that's the gist of it, kid."

Haruhi blinked, feeling a cold trickle she hadn't felt in a year make its slow way across her entire body.

"And, bet any money, those other two are also marriage proposals," Ranka said, winking, "Well, see you tomorrow, Haruhi. Don't do anything drastic like bomb threats without calling me. Love you!"

"Love you too, Dad," Haruhi said mechanically.

Slowly, she picked up the letter Ranka had thrown carelessly on her desk. He was right. The rest of the letter went on to describe how well Tamaki would "take care of your darling, precious princess of a daughter for the rest of her life, even if God would be so cruel to take me away from her before then."

Swallowing bile, Haruhi picked up another one. Ootori. Addressed to _her_, instead of her father, which was a good start. That letter was much more business-like and straightforward. Haruhi almost picked up the phone and called Kyouya, saying yes just for _not_ being Tamaki. She stopped herself, realizing that the signature was his father's.

So, it was one of _those _types of arranged marriages. Funny, she wasn't even considered to be marriageable age yet, much less past it.

Feeling much more calm, she reached for the last one. Hitachiin. Well, was it Hikaru or Kaoru? She was mostly against the idea of marrying either one, (or _any _of the Host Club members, past or present, for that matter) but after Kyouya's father's calm appraisal of her abilities, intelligence and potential benefit for the Ootori's extensive interests, Haruhi felt that maybe she could deal with it.

This one was neither ostentatious and overly romantic, nor cool and formal, but a little more on the awkward, teenage-crush-obsession side. From Hikaru.

Sitting back in her chair, Haruhi considered her prospects.

Either she could marry Tamaki, Kyouya, or Hikaru, or none of them.

A few years ago, she would have said _no _without hesitation, and not regret it. Now? Well…

Leaving her desk the way it was, Haruhi got up, got ready for bed, and turned off the house lights. All thoughts of studying abandoned, she picked up her pillow and blanket, and made her way into the apartment's living room. She set the pillow and blanket down on the floor, in front of her mother's shrine.

She needed to borrow the tranquility and serenity that woman had possessed while she was living. For this one night only.


	2. Point of View

**A/N: You know what I should be doing right now? My project on Edgar Allan Poe. Instead, I'm here, giving my second chapter for everyone to read and REVIEW, please. And remember, no spoilers.**

The weight of the news should have forced Kyouya to sit down.

He was an Ootori though, trained from diapers how to take news calmly and without surprise shown. No matter what.

Still, Kyouya couldn't help but let some of his emotions show.

Through gritted teeth: "Excuse me, Father?"

"You heard me well enough the first time, Kyouya. I sent out a marriage proposal to Haruhi Fujioka. I think she would be a good match for you."

"Neither of my brothers are so much as engaged. Neither is Fuyumi. Why the lastborn first?"

"I don't think Miss Fujioka would even consider the marriage if it was between her and a man she did not know, and I know for a fact Suou will try and snatch her up. I don't have the time to go through marriage negotiations with any of my other children before she may very well be taken out of the candidates list forever. Which is why I sent the letter."

"Without discussing it with me first," Kyouya said it as a fact, not an incrimination.

"Do you object? You know the type of woman you will most likely be yoked with in matrimony. Can you honestly say you would not prefer Miss Fujioka over that silly, giggling heiress?"

Kyouya winced. He couldn't help it; his father had hit the nail on its head. He could leave the heiress for the Tamakis of the world. A smart, ambitious, beautiful (under the male uniform, that is), woman was more than he could have expected.

"Well? Are we done here?" his father said in a rather annoyed way.

"Yes," Kyouya said, turning to leave, but before he left the room, "Is she really worth it?"

His father chuckled, "I think you know the answer to that one, Kyouya."

_All too well_, he thought, retiring to his room for the night, though it was barely seven.

* * *

_What?_

That was the only word Kaoru could think, staring at his identical twin, utterly baffled.

It was ten-thirty at night, time to get some rest for the night, and they were in their bed, when Hikaru had blurted out that he was marrying Haruhi.

_Marrying Haruhi._

"What?!?!" Kaoru's thoughts spilled into words without conscious direction.

"Well, it's not official or anything yet. I talked it over with Mom, and she approved, you know, she met Haruhi at the Ouran Festival two years ago, and she thinks that Haruhi would be a valuable addition to the Hitachiin family, and I just sent out a letter a few days ago-"

"A few days? You've been sitting on this for _a few days_?"

"Well…"

"And don't tell me that you're going to marry Haruhi just for the sake of the Hitachiin family. You love her."

"I do not."

"Well, that'll be nice to tell Haruhi. 'Yeah, Haruhi, I'll marry you, but I don't love you.'"

"Oh, shut up. You're just jealous."

"I am not. I saw this two years ago!""Then why are you arguing?"

"Because the way you're talking about her makes her sound like a stock or a bond, _not_ a person!"

Hikaru took a deep, bed-shaking breath, and exhaled slowly.

"You're right. Sorry."

"No problem."

Silence.

"You've been sitting on this for two years?!?!"

"Well…"

* * *

_Ha~ru~hi!_

Why wasn't she answering his letter?

Why didn't she come running headlong into his arms, saying "Yes, senpai," like always?

_~Tamaki Inner Mind Theatre~_

Haruhi, a beautiful college student, dressed in girly clothing she would have never worn in reality, made her way across a campus, talking to another girl, who was also dressed in extra-girly clothing. Both girls chatted and talked, lightly, which is also something Haruhi wasn't inclined to except in Host Club natural rookie mode. A closer examination of Haruhi revealed that she had gotten her ears pierced, and was wearing ultra-feminine heart earrings, along with the necklace, bracelet and ring variations. She and the other student laughed at something Haruhi said.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki's voice called, out of view.

"Oh!" Haruhi said, blushing daintily, "I'm sorry, Yuka-chan, but I'm going to have to go."

"Secret boyfriend?" the girl, Yuka, said, teasing, "Okay, bye Haru-chan, but it better not be some old pervert!"

"Oh, he's not," Haruhi said the moment Yuka was out of earshot.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki's voice called again.

"Coming, Senpai!" she answered cheerily.

"I told you not to call me that," Tamaki's voice reminded her gently.

"Sorry, I forget so easily…Tamaki…"

"Well, as long as it isn't worse things, I don't mind…" he said, suddenly appearing on a bench, as if he'd been there the whole time, "…Haruhi."

"Tamaki!" she gasped in surprise, then smiled, a la ingénue fashion. "I could never call you bad things."

"Spend the rest of your life with me, Haruhi!" Tamaki suddenly asked.

"Oh, Tamaki!"

_~End Tamaki Inner Mind Theatre~_

Tamaki was literally on his knees, his hands thrown to the sky, promising God to bring his future family to church three times a week if He would just give him Haruhi!

"Tamaki-sama. You have a phone call."

"HARUHI!!!!" he screamed.

"No," came Kyouya's voice audibly through the receiver held by the maid, "it's just me."

"Kyouya!" he said, surprised.

"Yes, me," Kyouya said in his most patient voice.

"Kyouya, you won't believe the injustice God has done to me this time!" Tamaki complained, the maid backing out of the room discreetly.

"What is it?"

"Haruhi hasn't said yes yet!"

"Yes? To what?"

"My engagement letter!"

_So he _has_ sent one too. Poor, pitiful Haruhi, _Kyouya thought.

"Ah, I see. When did you send it?"

"Wednesday, overnight delivery!"

"It's Saturday."

"Yes, yes, you understand my sorrow!" the blond man nearly cried.

"Tamaki, she received the letter Thursday."

"It's been two days!"

"It's customary to at least wait a while."Dead silence. Somewhere (surely not close to the Ootori residence) a cricket chirped. Kyouya checked his watch. The stock market was closing soon.

"Customary?" he inquired.

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Anything else I can do for you, King Tamaki?"

"How long?!?!?!"

"If she has any decorum, a few weeks, minimum."

"Minimum?"

"Minimum."

"Oh. I see."

"Well?""Hmm?"

"What will you do for a few weeks?"

Another silence. Kyouya looked again. Four minutes twenty-two seconds until the stock market closed.

"I know exactly what to do! I'll need some money, Mom!"

Three minutes fifty-three seconds.

"What precisely do you have in mind, Dad?"

"A surprise trip to America!"

"You know they're experiencing a recession in their economy now, right?"

"Oh…"

Three minutes one second.

"Later, Tamaki," Kyouya said, putting down the phone.

Automatically, Kyouya booted up his laptop, looking at the last numbers of the day, watching them change for a few seconds before the Tokyo Stock Market officially closed for Saturday, April 28. Kyouya memorized the numbers without thinking. Ootori stock declined by a point, while Suou had gained three.

He didn't bother to think of the implications.


	3. Train Stations and Butterflies

For having slept on the floor the last few nights and getting three marriage proposals, Haruhi was in a fairly good mood.

As in, she was willing to let you explain why the train was broken and when the next one would be coming before slaughtering you with the nearest possible object (a paper clip, in this case).

Barely restraining herself from strangling the man behind the counter, she sat down on one of the hard plastic chairs in the train station, and breathed deeply and slowly, trying to calm herself.

What was she going to do?

How was she going to act around Hikaru and Kaoru? What could she possibly say for any of them to forget for one moment that he had proposed and that she hadn't answered yet?

And she knew Kaoru would be watching her much more than Hikaru. Hikaru would be embarrassed, and wouldn't meet her eyes, but Kaoru would be (albeit discreetly) watching her like a hawk.

Sighing, she leaned back in her plastic chair, and watched the people moving around her, ebbing and flowing like the tide. Most of them had parents who had been married to each other. What had their mothers said when their fathers had proposed?

"Mommy! Daddy! Look, a butterfly!" came a cry from behind her.

Haruhi twisted around in her chair, looking at the child, pointing at a butterfly that was alighting on a chair much like Haruhi's.

"Oh, look at it, dear. Isn't it beautiful?" said the woman, hidden from sight.

"Yes, it is. What is it doing down here?" said the man, sitting by the child.

"It probably flew in," said the mother reasonably, her hand coming close to the butterfly, almost stroking it.

Haruhi gasped as the butterfly took flight, startled by the woman's hand. The man turned around, his eyes meeting Haruhi's. He held her gaze for a few seconds, and then nodded, and turned away.

"Oh," the woman said.

"Mommy, you made the butterfly fly away!" said the child, her cute face frowning.

"I guess I did. I'm sorry."The man's cell phone went off, and Haruhi finally turned around, wishing to give him a little privacy.

It was in vain, though. She could still hear them, their voices louder than anyone else's. The man talked low on his cell phone for a few minutes, and the mother started talking to the child, about maybe getting some sweets later if she was good while they were there. The child said loudly that she would be good if she could get some sweet things later, like western candy. The mother said fondly that she would only get the sweets if she was quiet the whole time they were there. The girl said, still loudly, that she would be.

"Who was that?" the mother asked as soon the man was off his cell phone.

"My brother. He lost the case." The man sighed. "The corporation's going to demand that he be put in jail."

"What's Uncle going to do?" asked the child.

"Ah," said the man, as if just remembering that she was there, "He'll be fine, he just won't be able to visit us for a while."

"How long won't he be able to visit us?" asked the mother, trying to keep up the act.

"Don't know."

"Since we can't find Uncle, can we visit him?" asked the child, refusing to be forgotten.

"Maybe, dearest," said the father, "So, where do you think we'll go to find your sweets?"

"There's the store on the corner that I like!"

"Okay, well, maybe we'll go there."

Haruhi smiled at the child's enthusiastic cries and promises of being good the entire time, but couldn't quite get the man's tone when he said the name "the corporation" out of her head.

"Train Number 45 is up and running, folks. It'll be leaving in five minutes," came a voice over the intercom. Haruhi got up and took the bag containing her Ouran uniform that she didn't want to get dirty. She walked over to the train, and, checking the number, boarded along with the rest of the relieved citizens, most checking their watches, calculating just how late they were.

Haruhi chose a window seat, and watched the world fly by as she wondered just what excuse she would give her teacher. Would they accept the excuse that the train broke down? Though she knew that the twins could easily bribe the teacher to excuse her.

The question was, would they?


	4. Running Late

**A/N: Y'know what I should be doing right now? Studying for German. Oh, you know what else I could be doing? Making sure my parents don't freak out when I don't come home tomorrow. But what am I doing? Finally updating this chapter. But geez, I don't know what comes next. Anyway, R&R everyone. Really. R&R. That little "Review" button does wonders to your self-esteem.**

* * *

The teacher stood in front of her own class, scared stiff, unsure what to do. She had never seen anything like this in all her years of teaching.

Kaoru Hitachiin was staring at her, completely and utterly looking like he was paying attention to every word she was saying.

At least, she assumed it was Kaoru. Whichever one of them wasn't paying attention, however, had his eyes bound to the clock, one leg bouncing impatiently, his hand in his pocket, presumably on his cell phone. Still, having even one of the Hitachiin brothers pay absolute attention to her was unnerving. She would hate to know what was going through their heads today.

* * *

_Where's Haruhi?_

That was the only thought on Hikaru's mind that Monday morning. And Kaoru, his twin, was acutely aware of it.

Oh, he acted the part of a model student. He probably even freaked out the teacher a little, considering his usual attitude during class. His eyes never left her, and he nodded occasionally, showing his understanding.

Hikaru, by contrast, was twitching and fidgeting like a rat staring down the barrel of a gun. He kept his eyes on the clock, his mouth sporadically forming an unheard word, an echo from his mouth. Every once in a while, his eyes would glare down to the screen of his cell phone, absorbing the information before snapping back up to stare at the clock. And the one thought, continually on repeat; the million dollar question:

Where's Haruhi?

_What trouble could she possibly get into? It was what, a forty minute drive from her apartment to the school? Did the car break down? Was she being held hostage by a crazed gunman? Was there so much traffic she's nearly half and hour late?_

_Or was she sick? _came Kaoru's voice in Hikaru's ear.

_But she knew how to use a phone, so she had no excuse not to call. _

_But she might not know how to text, and she wouldn't want to disturb class…_

_To hell with that! That's not an excuse!_

_What if a family member died? What if her father's sick?_

_She still knows how to call us! Is she so distraught as to forget all about us? Damn it all, aren't we her friends?!?!_

The cry from so many years ago came rushing back.

Suddenly, the thoughts of both twins turned to the time when Haruhi had worked at Misuzu's pension. The boy, Arai, sitting there, plain and boring, chatting up Haruhi, their shared past the focus of the entire Host Club. Kaoru, virtually held hostage by Hikaru's irritation, wanting to join them but held back by his twin's feelings. And then the careless words, intended to bring them all back to the present day, draw the lines between Haruhi and Arai. They had meant to hurt. But Haruhi was never supposed to react the way she did…

_Where could she be?_

_It's probably just a little thing. We'll laugh it off later._

_Haruhi has a good enough head on her shoulders to at least call the school if she were absent. And wouldn't we be before the school?_

_She's probably just running late. She'll be so very ticked at whatever made her late._

_And she still hasn't answered my question…_

* * *

Haruhi changed hastily in the subway's restroom, cursing herself for being indebted to the Host Club. If she had never broken that Rene vase back in first year, she would never have to change into a man's tuxedo in a woman's restroom.

_Y'know, if I would just change in the man's restroom, this would be easier…the scary part is that I could probably pull it off…_Haruhi couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Despite of (or maybe in spite of,) her nearly three years in the Host Club, her consciousness of genders was just as low as it had been the first day.

Although, if it hadn't been, she might not be in this trouble that she was in now…

Three marriage proposals? Honestly? None would have been good enough for her. She hadn't even thought of marriage, and certainly not to any of the Host Club members.

She finished dressing, gathered her clothes in the bag that used to house her Ouran uniform, and mentally steeled herself. A few steps until the exit, and then she would only have to bear a few more odd looks of people who saw her emerge from the women's restroom. She undid the lock and went out, her head forward, shaking off any questions before they were spoken. Not that she didn't have a good excuse; she just didn't want to explain it all to a stranger.

* * *

_A transvestite?_

What other reason was there for the girl who entered a restroom female and left as a man? But she had on a school uniform, to a wealthy academy no less. What could this all add up to? A cross-dressing heiress?

He watched her, (or was it a him after all?) wait for the next train. She stared at the board that stated what trains went where, and sighed and left the station, seeming to be late for something. Then again, a school uniform? She was probably late for school.

Making a mental note to check out that uniform, he got on the next train back to his waiting family. He had some personal matters to deal with today.


End file.
